Dad's numbers are hovering in the 70s today and they don't seem to want to come up after a meal. Right now I'm waiting for a call back from the nurse at the VA. Dad's energy is very low and this morning his hands were shaking. He's been sleeping most of the day. Jim went to the store to buy him some milk and some small cans of fruit juices that we can keep here for emergencies.
I don't think he's in the danger zone but it concerns me that the number doesn't come up much after he eats. Most days his blood sugar is around 180 to 190, sometimes up above 200.
Later...
Ok, I just went over there. He's eaten, he feels better and his glucose is 94. I guess we're ok for today.
11 comments:
Stan and I went for a nice walk around the upper field this afternoon. He seemed more energetic and happy. We talked about how the trees look good and the dogs and field cleaning that still needs doing, and he thanked me again for helping him with his health.
drjyon - Chinese-American New Orleans pianist
I helped him with meds. He's going to skip the Metformin tonight. His elbow is red and oozing and it hurts quite a bit. I gave him some Vicodin and set him up with some doses and instructions to get him through the night. He grumbled a little about me keeping the bottle at our house but I explained it would be really bad if he took too many of them. I think he was too tired to put up much of a fight.
Donita,
Sounds like Dad may have a flare of the infection on his elbow that could be causing the decreased blood sugar. I would continue to hold the Metformin until we see sugar above 140. If the elbow is draining I would see if the Doc could give him some more antibiotics.
What is with these funny words at the end of everyone's post. I am only left brained!!!
I've got the anti-spam word verification thing turned on. I was getting comments like, "Wow! You've got an interesting blog! Keep up the great work. By the way, I have a great career opportunity I'd like to tell you about..." Crap like that.
We've started making up definitions for the squiggly words that you have to type in to post your comments. I don't do it every time, only when I'm inspired. I like Jim's Dr. Jyon definition.
Anyway...
The ortho gave Dad some more Gatafloxacin. He said if it doesn't clear up in 10 days he should go back. He's had 2 doses so far. I'm guessing we should start to see some improvement in a couple days. We also got some more elbow pads. His first one is starting to fall apart.
So, the infection can CAUSE the low blood sugar? That's interesting. I thought it was the other way around.
(Everyone, this is bro-in-law, David, the left-brained one who keeps the rest of us from floating off the face of the planet.)
zqtwmo- The lesser known, fourth Stooge.
Dear Bill, all is forgiven, please come back.
Have fun! We'll miss you. I'm pretty sure you'l find more people agreeing with your bumper stickers these days.
Well, this morning the fog was very thick. Dad pretty much couldn't do anything. Anything that was in front of him got his attention. It took forever just to get him to wash his hands so we could do the glucose test. He wanted to grab at everything that was on his counter. He had trouble even turning the bathroom light on. When he went to wash his hands he tried to turn the spout. He couldn't deal with the lancet shooter. I had to actually take his hand and guide it to the test strip. Usually he has no trouble at all with doing the testing. His glucose was 174 this morning so I had him take the Metformin.
He had a lot of trouble taking his meds. Usually I let him get the pills out of the jars because he can handle it and I figure it's a good mental exercise. Today he took the lid off one of the jars and then grabbed a paper towel and tried to stuff it inside. I think he thought it was the lid.
His elbow is still oozing. I told him maybe he should leave off the pad so it can get some air. When he wears the pad the scab sticks to it so when he pulls it off it openes up again. He can't put a Band-aid on it because his skin reacts to the adhesive. I'm going to try using first aid tape and see if he can handle that.
After meds I helped him take things out of the fridge so he could get some breakfast. When I left he was fixing a bowl of cereal. About an hour later he came over and said he couldn't eat breakfast, that he had thrown up. I gave him some Pepto Bismol and fixed him some chicken soup. I sat with him outside at the table while he ate, reminding him to take it slow. After he finished he said he wanted to go home and go to bed. I'm going to go over later and see if he can take his meds again. I'm pretty sure he threw up everything I gave him this morning.
He's never had trouble taking his meds on an empty stomach. Usually he takes them and then eats right away. Gatafloxacin can cause nausea but he never had trouble with it before.
So, we're not having a good day. I'm going to go check on him in a little while. I think right now he's probably sleeping.
Dad slept most of the day. He got up around 2:30 and had some soup. He seemed to be feeling better so I repeated his morning meds. I also bandaged up his elbow. After being uncovered most of the day it looked good and dry. We'll see if his skin can handle the first aid tape.
Drew came over and moved the big trailer. We still need to move some stuff out of the alley but at least now the trailer is out of the field and ready to be moved into place. Moving that thing was quite a project. Jim and I spent about an hour moving some firewood out of the way (ouch).
Dad came out to help (?) direct. After the trailer was in place Jim and I went home to finish working on the Christmas tree flyer. Drew went inside with Dad. I went down to talk to Drew about the flyer just as he was leaving. He said Dad had thrown up again. I think it had been about an hour an a half since he tried taking the meds again. I'm hoping enough of it got into his system. I'll see if I can talk to David tonight.
We moved firewood for over 2 hours.
This has been a relatively difficult week for Stan, what with elbow, low blood sugar, digestive problems, etc, and his worries about tree season. So it's also been relatively hard for us. Paige has a project assignment due tomorrow, I'll help her with it next.
dszjcsd - don't stooges ze joe-curly shemp dent? (another unpronounceable string of letters)
Around 5 PM, as I was writing that last comment, Stan came over and said something like:
"Jim, can you help me for a minute?"
"Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"The water turned hot. What's her name, when she was over, and now the water's cooled down.
"Donita? Hot water?"
"No, not her. I'm sure the water's cooled down by now. Do you have a pair of pliers in there?" (in the studio)
"No, but I'll get a pair. What are they for?" (I go to get a pair out of the workshop area.)
"To get the lid off the hot water."
We walked over to Stan's house, and I had no clue about what to expect. As I turned the corner to his door, I saw his friend Helen from church. The hood to her car was propped up with a wooden stick. Apparently, her car has a coolant leak. It was light enough to see under the hood, but not very well. I added water to what I thought was her overflow tank, but turned out to be her windshield washer fluid tank. I asked her to get in the car and start it, so I could look for the leak. But she couldn't find her keys. So we looked for those for about ten minutes, when Donita came over (she wanted to know which car to take to Mt Rubidoux for her walk). Doni had a flashlight, so I added water to the proper coolant overflow tank, and then Doni looked for Helen's keys.
We didn't find them, though, so I took Stan and Helen to Helen's house, where they were planning to have dinner and where another person would then pick up Stan and take him to church. After he's done at church, someone else is planning to bring him home. They were both very grateful for the ride.
And then, when I got home, Paige and I had a bit of a row about her homework.
So, tomorrow, we need to look for Helen's keys and then probably get a locksmith out, as well as do something about her cooling system.
And maybe ask Paige how her homework is going.
In quick summary:
Monday - a relatively simple day.
Tuesday - elbow infection, VA hospital, field show until after 11 PM.
Wednesday - low blood sugar, elbow bleeding
Thursday - vomiting, moving wood, vomiting, Helen's car, homework
Friday - Helen's car, homework, ???
Ah, interesting times...
ctocsv - conversion to Comma Separated Values.
(weren't these "word verification" words more word-like a couple of weeks ago?)
I think I may start using blogs to assess problems with my patients.
After reading Jim's chronology of events it appears to me Dad is definately reacting to the Gatafloxin. I had an elderly patient react to Cipro (ciprofloxacin - a sister medication) similarly in the hospital one time with seeing all sorts of things and staying up all night after one dose. Any way would hold the antibiotic and see if VA will switch the Rx. If Dad isn't allergic to penicillin, Augmentin might be a good option.
zlmrau - a new medication for irritable bowel syndrome
Blogs would be useful to assess psychiatric patients. Seriously, if you hit the "next blog" button at the top right and surf you'll see all kinds of people who consider themselves crazy.
I'll ask about the Augmentin. Everything is on the computer at the VA and usually when we meet with Dr. Griffin we also have a session with the pharmacist in that module. They're very careful about drug interactions. But this time he got the prescription from the ortho. I dunno, he was fine the last time he took these meds together. Maybe he's just more out of whack now.
Ok, I just talked to him. He sounds waaaay better than he did earlier. I asked him if he was allergic to penicillin and he said he was 40 years ago. (?) So, ok, we'll look into that one.
prorjj- a Polish pastry
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